New Daily Writing Guides from The Write Practice

Subplot: Literary Definition, Examples, and Writing Tips

Stories are complicated, twisty, multi-faceted things. At some point, in many of the best stories, it feels like everything is in complete chaos, and then, seemingly all at once, it’s as if the chaos has come to a head in a way that makes everything line up perfectly.

And one of the best tools in a writer’s tool belt is the subplot.

But what is a subplot? How can you spot it in the books and stories you love most? And if you’re a writer, how do you use it to tell better stories?

In this article, I’m sharing everything you need to know about subplots. I’ll start with the definition of the literary term, then show you how it fits into a story structure, examples of some of my favorite subplots, and even tips from my own experience on writing novels with subplots.

World Building Tip: Craft Your Story Setting

by Ruthanne Reid | 33 Comments

Your story’s setting includes everything that affects your characters. It is the environment in which they live, breathe, and find meaning. It is where they fail and learn to succeed. All this to say, your story’s environment matters.

How to Write a Blog Post: The 3 Best Blog Post Templates

by Joe Bunting | 49 Comments

We recently talked about how long your blog posts should be. Today, let’s talk about how to write a blog post that helps you accomplish your writing goals, and the three blog post templates that can help you accomplish this.

25 YA Writing Prompts to Spark Terrific Stories for Teens

by Sue Weems | 2 Comments

Some of the books that make the biggest impact on us as readers are the books we read as children and teens. If you want to write for teens, today we have some young adult YA writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing. Use one of these story ideas to write your own YA story!

How to Write a YA Novel

by The Magic Violinist | 2 Comments

Young adult novels have never been more popular. It started with the rise of Harry Potter and continued with hits like The Fault in Our Stars, The Hunger Games, and Divergent. Have you ever wondered how to write a YA novel?

Learning how to write fiction is one thing, but writing for teens is a whole different ball game. As a teen and an avid YA reader myself, I have a few tips for you.

How to Use Either, Neither, Or, and Nor Correctly

by Liz Bureman | 295 Comments

My mother seems to appreciate having a grammar lover in the family. For Christmas one year, she bought me the book I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar. (By the way, it is equally correct to say “bad grammar.”) Last week, my mother emailed to ask if she was using the word “nor” correctly, which brings me to today’s post: the use of either, neither, and the connecting words that go with them.

What to Do After You Write a Book: 5 Next Steps

by Joe Bunting | 26 Comments

You worked hard. You stayed up late, got up early, pushed through writer’s block, and finally, at long last, finished writing your book.

But after you write your book, what comes next?

10 Easy Steps to Building an Author Website (2025)

by Joe Bunting | 64 Comments

If you’re like most writers I know, you probably dream of getting published. But as I’ve worked with writers for the last six years, I’ve found that most are woefully unprepared for what publishing actually takes, and this means that either they never figure out what it takes to get published or when they finally DO get published, they find themselves disappointed with the process and with how many books they sell.

How do you prepare for getting published though? There are several steps, but the first step is building an author website. In this article, I’m going to share a step-by-step guide to building a simple author website yourself that will support all of your publishing efforts.

How to Shape a Story: The 6 Types of Story Arcs for Powerful Narratives

by Joe Bunting | 20 Comments

In stories, we get to see the cause-and-effect connections between otherwise random events. We get to experience the deeper meaning in life. We get to see through the chaos of real life and see the underlying pattern.

The literary term for this pattern is story arc, and humans love story arcs.

In this article, we’re going to talk about the definition of story arcs, look at the six most commonly found story arcs in literature, talk about how to use them in your writing, and, finally, study which story arcs are the most successful.

The Write Practice Needs Your Help

by Joe Bunting | 8 Comments

A plea for help from the founder of The Write Practice.

Here to learn? You’re in the WRITE place!